We are now more than halfway through 2020, yay! Here are some interesting reads, as we enter the traditional ‘summer holiday’ season in many parts of the Northern Hemisphere:

Farmers’ markets go hi-tech – Starting off with an article that I can personally relate to. One of the surprising things in this lock-down, for me, was the access I had to excellent quality produce, especially fruits. Now, I understand that I am speaking from a position of privilege. But as this article covers, the use of technology has also helped (at least some) farmers get a better return on their produce than they might have received from traditional channels. I do hope this trend continues and grows.

Could adding a new public holiday boost the economy? – While staying in India, the thought that adding public holidays could boost the economy might sound very strange. My view is that most Indians would rather prefer to take some time off and chill at home or visit family and friends if they get a day off. This is very different in some other countries. And I have personal experience of this from my time staying abroad. In many countries, holidays are a time of going out, doing things (leading to increased spends). This article goes deeper into the economic ramifications of a day off.

What’s wrong with WhatsApp – It’s not been the best of times for Facebook recently. And this article goes into detail on some of the negative aspects of one of the most popular social networking and communications platform.

‘Travel will never, ever go back to the way it was’ – In my opinion, travel is one of the industries that’s been impacted massively by the current pandemic. The CEO of one of the world’s leading travel companies, Airbnb, feels that the changes are likely to be permanent.

Too Many Screens – Another change that we can all relate to is the increasing amount of time all of us are spending in front of screens. I am sure that we will agree that this is not healthy. As this article asks, “At what point do we turn it off?“